Fools
by Sunshine-M
Summary: A one-shot. The war has been won, but Sansa and Tyrion must work together to make sure that BRienne's babe will not be targeted for the crime of its late father. A story of how Sansa and Tyrion are fools in love, being led to a Happy ending by King Bran. Please R&R!


The war had been won, Jon had killed Daenerys, Bran was king, and all was well in the world.

Well, according to Arya, there was plenty of world to explore so maybe it was not, but it was nice.

Until Sansa was crowned and her brother asked her to present herself at King's Landing, to celebrate the friendship between the North and the Six Realms.

Sansa had been delighted, as she missed her brother dearly and direly at times. Being your own sovereign came naturally to her, but truth be told, she missed her advisors and people she could rely on who could see past the Stark name and legacy, or who had not chosen her out of spite because Jon had been sent back to the Wall. She organized her trip and made arrangements through emissaries. She was travelled as fast as she could without looking like she was rushing and was received in glorious pump at the Red Keep. Never mind the memories it brought back to her, she was just excited to see her brother and perhaps exchange a few barbs with her former husband.

He was supposed to greet her when she arrived and greet her he did. He was dressed all in black, an homage to the Stark family, and she smiled upon seeing him. It was too bad Bran needed him by his side to rule, for she would have liked to revisit the idea of … What? She was not sure. All she knew was that he had trusted her and had taken great risks for her around the Crazy Targyaren. She had heard all about the way King's Landing had been ravaged even though people had surrendered, and her first thought had been for her family of course, which surprisingly included her former husband.

He explained the new policies that were being put in place as they travelled through the city, and she waved at the people who had come to see the dreaded Queen of the North. It seemed Varys before his death had managed to have his spiders spread words about the fact that she had forewarned them all about the fact that the Queen wanted to be a savior but it was unsure on which side the coin had landed when the Gods had thrown it in the air upon the woman's birth. It was a false tale, but it had gone a long way to helping people from Westeros come to grip with the fact that the Kingdom of the North had seceded from their long unity.

"It is good to see you my Lady, you look in good health, and that crown could not adorn a head more beautiful than yours. It must be praising the gods for letting sit on this most precious place," he had said, just before they had parted, and she had laughed.

This was the man she had known for so long, it seemed incredible to consider only five years had gone by. How she missed him. Having him in Winterfell had reminded her of the fact that of all the men she knew, only a few could be trusted and this one could.

Bran had then greeted her in the throne room, and they had acted accordingly to procol, though a servant managed to sleep her note saying:

_Please come and meet me in the library one hour after dinner is over._ And it was signed: _Your brother with one too many eyes._

She looked for Brienne but was told that the Knight was dealing with a minor incident in a tavern in town, explaining her absence. How she wished to see her friend.

Well, the saying did say to be careful what you wished for she would later think, when she arrived in the library, having worn a cape to hide her hair and make her look inconspicuous. She had met her brother, who was there, with her dear Brienne, as well as her husband.

_Former husband_

"My Lady," the knight said, bowing her head, and Sansa wanted to run to her, but she did not, feeling as though some kind of barrier had been erected between them. Tyrion looked sincerely surprised too, had no clue why he had been invited there.

"Sansa, I am so happy to see you, and will continue being happy to see you, but I had to make you travel in haste, and I hope you will see my point. Lord Hand, please don't distrust your king, or at least not until you've heard it all."

And then Bran turned to Brienne, who, under the weight of everyone's scrutiny almost fell to her knee and was very much on the brink of tears. She explained that she had been intimate with Lord Jaime before he had chosen to try and save his sister, and Sansa felt her heart go out to both the knight and the Hand, who still missed the man so much.

Then, incapable of saying the words, Brienne had pushed aside the many layers she wore, and befuddled, Tyrion and Sansa discovered that the short but intense relationship had resulted in Brienne being pregnant.

They had no time to process, and she supposed her brother knew exactly that when he pressed, forcing them to turn back to him:

"When the Dothrakis learn that there is a Lannister heir, they will want to kill it. Greyworm especially would want revenge for Missandei's death, and I have seen him starting a war over this child. I was not surprised when Lady Brienne told me about her condition, for I am all-knowing, but I did not expect to find myself caring for the child or what could happen to it. You need to take it away, Sansa, and pretend it's yours."

"And how would I have conceived it?" She asked, putting her hand on the knight's belly.

"I would like you to take my Hand, I mean Lord Tyrion, and Lady Brienne back to Winterfell with you. You'll pretend you have received threats and I have landed you my best Knight, and while you were in King's Landing, you would have decided to give Tyrion another try. My Lord, you would not need to stay any longer than you would want, but then Sansa would be able to say the child is hers, and the Dothrakis for some reason do not see you the same way they do your brother. The babe would live, and have a good life. You have sworn off men, Sansa, I know it, but no comedy would be involved. If Tyrion just gets back with you to Winterfell then leaves almost right away, people will have assumed you got pregnant here. "

"My Lady… I do not have the words I believe are needed to convey my thoughts, but this here is my brother's child," Tyrion said, hypnotized. "The one child he would have raised proudly and loved. I can only beg of you, would you put up this charade, so that Brienne can have her baby safely, and …"

"Brienne, could you abandon your child?" Sansa had to ask.

"If it meant keeping it alive, I could. I can't think of anyone I would trust more to raise this babe but you."

"I wish you had anytime to think, but alas I can't grant you one night as you're supposed to leave in two days. We need to have appearances in order before you leave if you decide to help the woman who has always been there for you even when you did not want her there…"

"Don't you try and guilt me. Of course I will do it, Brienne, anything for you. But what about you My Lord? Won't you mind what people would say when you arrive in Winterfell and leave immediately? Would you bear the thought of people believing you've abandoned wife and child?"

"I don't think I would leave right away, or at least that's what my heart is telling me. I would want to see the babe, make sure it lives past its first winter… Would you bear with me?" He asked.

And of course, she would. Thus began some heavy planning to make the possibility of a threat real, decisions on how to handle it so that the Northeners would not feel it reflected poorly on their ways or their ability to protect their queen and more.

When they all parted, Tyrion walked with her, and none knew what to say.

At the very last time, as if suddenly finding something clever to say to alleviate the situation, he said:

"I did say we should have stayed married."

"I guess we will, for a while," she answered, before getting in her bedchambers.

* * *

The announcement was made, and they departed. Brienne rode her horse, not wanting anyone to doubt she could be in her condition. Sansa travelled with Tyrion, and they almost never spoke, but once, when he thanked her for taking in his brother's babe. He talked about the pride he felt in his heart, that Jaime had been able to recognize a good woman, but blamed Cersei for having poisoned their brother's mind for too long. He talked about the nephew or niece he never new he wanted. She listened, and he blushed when he was done, as if noticing she had not said a word, just let him say what was on his heart.

He may have felt ashamed by his revelations, but she felt closer to him, and even more certain about her decision.

At Winterfell, they announced her pregnancy very soon, and people learned to get to know Tyrion as their lord, which felt deceiving as he would be leaving. Brienne hid behind furs, and slowly made peace with the fact that when she would leave, she would have to leave a piece of her behind. Many promises were made in the dark of the night, when it was just the two of them, or the three if Tyrion was around, that Sansa would send news to her brother as often as possible, that she would write letters.

One night, almost six months in, Brienne's water broke, and Sansa was left alone with the woman and her husband, as they could not risk having a servant discover their plot. The maids were worried, thinking that the baby was early, about seven months into the pregnancy according to their false understanding, taking in the trip back and forth. Brienne gave birth to a wonderful baby girl, and All three of them cried over her bassinet.

Even though her heart was clearly breaking, Brienne left that very night, and Sansa knew she was afraid she would not be able to let go of her child otherwise.

The maids and matrons were surprised Sansa produced no milk, but one old nan said that it was not uncommon in brides who had been bedded too young or who had suffered in the past. It felt like a stretch, but nevertheless, Joanna, for that was her name, slept in Sansa's bedroom every night. The whole house had not even blinked when the newly reunited husband and wife had decided to keep their own chambers each, claiming he did not want to harm the babe in his sleep. Sansa had heard murmurs, saying Tyrion was on the verge of departing, and now that a girl had been born instead of a son, nothing was holding him back.

Yet, there he was, helping her whenever he could, feeding the baby, then watching the little girl. By the time she lived to see her first winter, he was always there, helping learn to move around, and trying to get her to say his name.

Sansa did not know what to expect. Shouldn't he be gone by now? And did she want him gone, while they were on this topic?

* * *

The answer was: No. Capital N. The more time they spent with baby Joanna, the closer they grew. The bond they had nurtured when married was stronger than ever, and she could not count the many times he made her laugh during the day, or the way he would wipe her tears when she would get desperate because Joanna was teething and she could not make the babe stop crying. He could not either, and they would share their angst over wine or mead, or even water.

Joanna's first world was "Dada". They wrote to Brienne every day, taking turns. She grew bigger and bigger, and one night, they found themselves celebrating her second namesday.

"Do you think you will be leaving us soon, my Lord?" Sansa asked her husband.

"Truthfully, no. If you will allow me, I would like to stay longer."

"I understand, it must be so hard to think of an everyday life where Joanna is not part of your daily routine."

"You do yourself poor credit. I would hate going back to a life when you're not there either."

She blushed, and he kissed her hand.

By the time Joanna's third namesday came around, Tyrion had moved into Sansa's bedroom, and they were living as husband and wife. With him, she learned to trust that no all men were evil, and that pleasure was something she was not immune too.

When Joanna turned four, well, she had a little brother of her own.

One day, they received a letter from king Bran, and both were terrified he wanted his Hand back.

"Congratulations to my dearest sister and her husband. Stay there, be there for her. Your family and ours have suffered enough. Be happy. I have made do for almost four years without you, I think I can safely say I can keep on doing so. Please, tell Joanna the many stories of her wonderful aunt Brienne, and uncle Jaime. Unsung heroes make me sad, and you wouldn't want to make the three eyed-raven unhappy, would you? Live!"

"That rascal knew all along, didn't he?" Sansa asked her husband, as she breastfed little Ned Jaime Lannister of House Stark.

"I believe it to be a safe guess. Otherwise you could just have explained your pregnancy by the need to scratch an itch, or not explain it at all, period. He knew what he was doing, allowing me to follow you back here, to be there for Brienne, and to be there for you."

"I still can kick his regal behind," she said.

"Kiss me instead."

"Gladly."

And she did.


End file.
